Shooting Stars: the gentle mocking of the celebrity guests threw an inclusive arm around the audience’s shoulder. Photograph: BBC

Comedy fans might be hitting themselves repeatedly in the face with a giant rubber frying pan at the news the BBC has axed Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer's long-running panel show Shooting Stars.

Shooting Stars transcended the "comedy panel show" format and quickly became its own genre – a seemingly chaotic stage show with occasional quiz elements. It seemed utterly brand new when it arrived in 1993 and it remains unique nearly 18 years later. That's quite an achievement.

A spokesperson for BBC2 cited "less space on BBC2 for comedy/entertainment panel shows" but Shooting Stars was so much more than that to its fans. It was the only remaining TV platform for Reeves and Mortimer's unique comedy, the quality of which they maintained and often bettered over the years. The last sketch show they made was for the internet, sponsored by a beer company. Surely talented comedians shouldn't have to turn to drinks companies to make their shows while broadcasters plough money into reality programming.

Are Reeves and Mortimer perhaps considered out of date or irrelevant to the young audience that broadcasters seem to keen to attract? Perhaps two men in their late 40s, cavorting in leggings aren't what these younger audiences want to watch.

If the pair's sketch shows were sometimes too baffling for the casual fan, Shooting Stars always conveyed their particular brand of lunacy in a more accessible way. They still managed to squeeze their sketch comedy in between the rounds, and the gentle mocking of the celebrity guests also threw an inclusive arm around the audience's shoulder, inviting us to rub-noses with the silliness.

The show had a peculiar habit of disappearing and reappearing years later – starting with a five-year run in the 90s and another two reincarnations in the noughties. But whenever it went out of fashion with commissioning editors, Shooting Stars always seemed to fall back into favour again eventually. Sadly, this really does look like the end of the line for Ulrika-ka-ka, Jack Dee (face like a "hard-boiled bollock") and scoring supremo Angelos Epithemiou who replaced original scorer George Dawes.

The show's history is liberally peppered with standout comedy moments that you just wouldn't get on other panel shows. Mostly because they are too weird, but TV could do with that at the moment. There isn't enough room here to list every brilliant song George Dawes performed but two shining examples are Baked Potatoes and Peanuts, mostly because Matt Lucas couldn't keep his composure while singing either.

A quick Twitter request for favourite moments sent my feed into overdrive. Of course it's sad when something held in such great affection is cancelled, but is it time for the show to go skipping off into the sunset leaving these wonderful memories behind it? Or did Reeves and Mortimer have more to give? The deadpan announcement on Tuesday on Twitter from Bob Mortimer suggests they weren't ready to go just yet.